Hawaii-American Water Co., a private company that provides sewer service to more than 30,000 people in Hawai'i Kai and part of Kuli'ou'ou, is seeking approval for a rate increase of 16.7 percent — the company's third rate hike request in four years.

If the new rates are approved by the Public Utilities Commission, the sewer bill for residents in single-family homes would rise to $63.65 per month over two years. Residents in multifamily residences such as condominiums would see their bills increase to $53.40 per month.

Residents will have a chance to voice their opinions about the proposed rate hike at a pubic meeting at Haha'ione Elementary School on Jan. 7.

Two previous rate increases, in 2004 and 2006, increased sewer fees for single-family homes served by Hawaii-American Water by a total of 12.6 percent.

The proposed change comes as sewer fees across O'ahu are rising. City sewer rates will increase 18 percent in each of the next three years, which is expected to double the typical home's monthly sewer charge from $45.44 to more than $90 by 2011.

In advertisements on Dec. 14, the company said it is looking to generate an additional $1.3 million, or about 15.9 percent, in revenue per year.

About 42 percent of the additional revenue will cover rising operational costs, said Lee Mansfield, manager of Hawaii-American Water.

The rest will fund ongoing upgrades to the 40-year-old sewer system, including refurbishing the plant's anaerobic digesters and relining the system's concrete pipes to prevent pipe breaks and disruptions in service.

"The community has been supportive of our efforts to improve the system and keep ahead of the curb of degradation of the system," Mansfield said.

In the last five years, Hawaii-American Water has relined about 15 percent of the pipes to "get an additional 20 to 30 years out of the pipes without having to tear up the street," Mansfield said. He anticipates Hawaii-American Water will spend another three to five years relining an additional 10 to 15 percent of the system.

News of the proposed increase surprised some residents.

"I would think the public would vote it down," said Bob Hoffman, a Queens Gate resident. "A 16 percent increase? Nothing goes up 16 percent."

He and his wife, Harriet, have lived in Queens Gate for about 30 years. They say the No. 1 problem with the sewer service has been the odor wafting across Sandy Beach and into the surrounding neighborhoods from the sewer plant, which sits mauka of Kalaniana'ole Highway, across from the beach.

"The problem is that these people keep asking for rate increases and the service hasn't changed any," Harriet Hoffman said.

The odor problem has been discussed at numerous neighborhood board meetings, and the Legislature passed a resolution in 2007 requesting that the company implement an odor-mitigation plan.

Mansfield said the plant meets odor-emission standards established by the Department of Health.

The company is also testing odor-mitigating chemicals and working on an odor study.

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